Mobile broadband allows you to access the internet from anywhere without the need for a landline. All you need is a mobile modem, sometimes called a USB modem stick, mobile data card or dongle. Mobile broadband is now available from most of the major network providers with various speeds and monthly usage allowances. Compare mobile broadband packages using our comparison table below.
Mobile
broadband is the latest development in mobile internet technology that will truly liberate your broadband connection. What it essentially allows is access to an internet connection running at broadband speeds wherever you are in the country, provided you are in an area covered by the latest high speed 3G networks. Because it uses mobile networking technology the best mobile broadband packages are offered by the large mobile
phone networks.
Mobile Broadband Technology - What You'll Need
When you sign up for a mobile broadband contract your new
ISP will more often than not send you a free Mobile Broadband USB dongle. This dongle will be very similar in size and shape to any USB pen drive memory stick you may have seen in the past, and will slot straight into any USB slot on your PC or laptop. It contains a small receiver and a USB modem which will pick up the
mobile broadband signal broadcast from your local cellular network tower and then allow you to connect to it and access the internet.
Because it is
wireless it means that you can take it up and down the country and still access your mobile broadband connection, just like you would expect to get mobile phone reception in most areas and receive the same services that you'd expect in your own home as you would sitting in a coffee shop. It's important to bear in mind that there are different specifications of USB dongle offered by the various
mobile broadband ISPs, and the most obvious difference will be the download speed that the dongle is capable of.
Often a single network will offer different types of dongle for different packages, and the fastest dongles will only be available for free on the more expensive monthly deals. Also the potential download speeds of the networks varies itself. For example,
Vodafone offer up to 7.2Mbps download speeds in the areas of best coverage on their network, whilst
Orange only offer up to 3.6Mbps.
Mobile Broadband Contracts and Deals
Most mobile broadband is offered on a
monthly subscription basis controlled by a fixed term contract. You will have to commit to the deal for a minimum of 12 months, but deals lasting 24 months are available out there, and of course the longer you're willing to stay faithful the better the deal is, but you will be trapped for the duration. Each month you can expect to pay anywhere between £10 and £25 depending on the particulars of the deal.
This money will buy you a monthly data usage or 'allowance' ranging from 1GB up to 15GB or more. 1GB equates to roughly ten hours of web surfing and very light downloading, so you won't really be able to use your mobile broadband connection a huge amount, so it's wise to go for a slightly beefier package unless you're an extremely light user.
If you want more monthly data usage than your contract allows then your ISP will react in one of two ways. Either they will cut off your account once you have reached your limit and you will then have to contact them and 'buy' more data allowance to tide you over until the end of the month.
Alternatively they may allow you to continue to use your connection after you have exceeded your usage allowance and charge you for every additional megabyte of data you download. The response will depend on the network, and nearly all the networks have slightly varying policies on this so it's worth checking up before you get stung by additional costs you couldn't see coming.
